The Plan To Kill CA's Catalina Islands 2,000 Mule Deer

[Wedgy]

There's got to be a better way....
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Desperate to rid Catalina of invasive deer, officials propose bold helicopter hunt

Invasive mule deer are pushing native plants to the brink on Catalina Island. Officials want to hunt animals from helicopters.

www.latimes.com

Catalina officials propose bold deer mitigation plan amid uncontrolled population growth

The mule deer population is taking a toll on the ecosystem on Catalina Island, and officials have proposed a bold new plan to help save the island's native animal and plant species.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a plan put forward by the Catalina Island Conservancy that would use "helicopter-mounted sharpshooters" to kill the invasive deer has prompted some backlash.

However, the group believes there's no other choice.
"The situation has become untenable for the deer and for the island's ecology, leaving the island at a tipping point," reads a statement on the Catalina Island Conservancy website. "After consulting with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, it has been determined that a strategic deer management program is required to implement the overall plan to revive the island's ecosystem."

The deer are destroying native plants and habitats by trampling and destroying native plants and habitats, and due to them not having a natural predator, their population grew exponentially, the conservancy said.
They also contribute to vegetation destruction and soil erosion, as well as threatening the endemic and threatened species on the island, including the Catalina Island Fox, the Catalina California Quail, the Santa Catalina Island Shrew and other unique animals and plants only found on Catalina.
The island's deer population is eight to ten times the density of the mainland, the Catalina Island Conservancy said.

Residents, however, are not as keen on the idea of hunting the deer down in order to cull the population.

A petition started by a group called Save our Catalina Mule Deer claims that those who live on the island weren't given enough time to conduct their own research, discuss their ideas and "register their humane concerns" with the plan.

"There are several areas of concern that we, as citizens of the State of California, urge the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider sufficient to deny the current application…" the petition said. "These include, but are not limited to, questions about scientific integrity, cultural relativity, humane considerations and our legal rights…to be a greater part of the process."
A Catalina resident told the L.A. Times that many of his fellow islanders don't want the deer to go away, but that the conservancy "concluded that the only good number of deer in Catalina is zero."

It is legal to hunt on Catalina Island as long as all the requirements are met, deer included. Hunters must notify the conservancy no later than two days after harvest and return tags no later than five days after harvest.

 

[Wedgy]

AVALON, Calif. —
A plan to use helicopter-mounted sharpshooters to kill nearly 2,000 invasive mule deer roaming the mountains of Santa Catalina Island has ignited a storm of protest among residents of the popular resort destination and prompted calls for state wildlife officials to block the hunt.
The Catalina Island Conservancy — the nonprofit that manages 90% of the island and is mandated to return it to its natural state — says the mass culling is necessary to protect Catalina's native plants and grasses, which have been devastated by herds of foraging deer.
Recurring cycles of extreme drought and wildfire have also taken a toll on back country vegetation, forcing emaciated deer to seek sustenance in developed areas of the island, where they come into conflict with humans and pets, officials say.
"The island and the deer are both fighting for survival and neither one is winning," said Whitney Latorre, 44, the conservancy's chief executive officer.

A fawn grazes on a Catalina hillside overlooking moored sailboats in August 2020. The Catalina Island Conservancy has proposed hunting invasive mule deer from helicopters.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)
"Unless we address the deer issue, the island will become more and more vulnerable to the devastating consequences brought on by rising temperatures and drought," she said.
The deer hunting plan is just the latest in a long string of attempts to impose some form of ecological order on the fragile and beloved island just 22 miles off the coast of Southern California. At one point or another, a menagerie of imported goats, bison, swine and other animals have all threatened to overwhelm those species native to California's Channel Islands.
According to conservancy officials, mule deer are the most destructive invasive animal left on Catalina. Intense grazing by deer has placed increasing stress on native plants and paved the way for the spread of highly flammable invasive weeds, such as flax-leaf broom.

The deer also amble into the harbor community of Avalon, where they feast on home gardens, attack pets or become entangled in lawn chairs and soccer nets.
"We understand that this is a bold and ambitious restoration project — and it will take courage to see it through, no doubt about it," Latorre said. "The right things to do aren't easy."

A doe and two fawns walk near a populated area of Catalina Island in June 2021.

(Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

That kind of talk has ignited deep passions on and off the island where more than 2,000 people have signed a petition urging the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to reject the conservancy's application to eradicate mule deer.
"We are completely against the slaughter of innocent mule deer on Catalina Island," said Dianne Stone, vice president of the Catalina Island Humane Society. "The Conservancy's solution is violent and ugly."
Opponents of the plan say most residents want the deer to remain on the island.
"Ninety percent of us don't want the deer to go away, but the conservancy has concluded that the only good number of deer in Catalina is zero," said resident William Flickinzer.

Avalon Mayor Anni Marshall would not go that far. But in an interview, she chose her words carefully.
"From the city's perspective, climate change brought drought to the island, forcing deer to wander into Avalon in search of water," she said. "The heartbreak is that they are not always successful and their survival rate is poor."

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She said the city has been forced to "deal with those suffering animals and dispose of their carcasses."
Although many residents want the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to intervene, a spokeswoman said the agency was "supportive of the habitat restoration project."
"The goal of the project is to restore ecosystem function and preserve Catalina's unique and rare biodiversity including some of the rarest plant species in our state and beyond," said Jordan Traverso.
"The project aims to propagate native flora and fauna, which, in turn, improve climate and wildfire resiliency," she said.



The conservancy plans to hire sharpshooters from the nonprofit White Buffalo Inc., of Connecticut, to begin eradicating the deer next fall. Hunters will use AR-15 style rifles with non-lead bullets, so that animals that scavenge the carcass will not be poisoned.

Interior portions of Catalina were much drier than coastal areas during the last drought. Conservancy officials say drought, wildfire and deer are complicating efforts to return the island to its natural state.
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
Hunted deer will be left where they lay because trying to airlift the carcasses out of the rough, nearly inaccessible island interior would be dangerous and costly, officials said. However, conservancy and state officials intend to remove carcasses from the vicinity of Avalon and roadsides.
In years past, battles erupted over the eradication of thousands of goats and feral pigs. By then, the animals had left scars on the landscape that may never heal: thousands of intricate goat trails crisscross the precipitous mountainsides, entire groves of ironwood and California lilac have disappeared, and the denuded canyons are eroding.
Mule deer were introduced to the island in the early 1930s with a goal of increasing wildlife and as a hunting resource. With no predators to thin the herds, deer have competed with the island's native wildlife ever since, wreaking havoc on habitat.
But persuading critics to appreciate the sorry plight of native plants has been a struggle for environmentalists.
Lauren Dennhardt, 34, senior director of conservation at the conservancy, has spent the last three years roaming Catalina's backcountry to monitor the health of native plant species.

Lauren Dennhardt, senior director of conservation at the Catalina Island Conservancy, examining an Island Rush-Rose, a federally threatened species.

(Louis Sahagun/Los Angeles Times)
On a recent morning, Dennhardt stood in a remote 10-acre sanctuary and gestured toward growths of Santa Catalina Island manzanita, island mountain lilac, blooming island rush-rose and Channel Island tree poppies. "This is what we want much of the island to look like," Dennhardt said.
Just beyond the plants, a fence loomed.
"This fence protects more than 60 species of native plants — many of them browsed into oblivion by deer everywhere else on the island," she said.
"Once the deer are gone, we can focus all of our attention on one of the most ambitious and large-scale ecological restoration projects ever attempted in California: restoring Catalina Island to a semblance of its natural state."
Past proposals to reduce the deer herds have included the sublime and the ridiculous. One called for introducing apex predators, such as mountain lions.
"That was a potential option," Latorre said. "We're not doing that, of course, because it's crazy. The introduction of a major nonnative predator could unleash cascading repercussions."


Under its hunting program, the conservancy allows hunters to take about 200 deer a year. However, biologists say that's not nearly enough, given that each doe produces two fawns each year.

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Deer have become such a common sight on the island that visitors routinely feed them. At Avalon Harbor, they toss ice cream, French fries, hot dogs and candy at the animals as they walk onto the beach.
And near the swank Descanso Beach Club, dozens of deer converge on a wooden box filled with bowls of water and pet food at dusk.
Biologists say deer like the salt found in cat food, but it lacks vitamins and can lead to bloating and fatal digestive disorders in the herbivores.
A sign at the site warns that feeding deer is "illegal and dangerous."
The eradication proposal signals a new direction for the conservancy on an island that attracts more than 1 million visitors a year — one that embraces restoration of relatively obscure native species over the costly business of maintaining high-profile beasts such as bison.
Just three years ago, the conservancy announced plans to boost tourism by adding bison to existing herds of the shaggy imported animals, which are descendants of 14 left here in 1924 by a movie crew.

A bison takes a dust bath on Catalina Island in July 2022. Bison are just one of a number of non-native species that have taken up residence on the island.
(Francine Orr/Los Angeles Times)
Locals cherish the bison as living symbols of simpler times. Homes in Avalon neighborhoods are festooned with painted images of bison. Gift shops sell furry bison figurines, and sand dollars are etched with bison silhouettes. Catalina's marathons are advertised under colorful bison logos.

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But the conservancy is no longer bullish on bison. Reducing the herd was recommended in 2003, when there were 350 bison on the island. A scientific study concluded that foraging and wallowing bison were trampling native plant communities; altering tree canopies by rubbing against tree trunks; and undermining weed management efforts by dispersing nonnative grasses through their droppings.
Today, there are only about 90 bison left, and the conservancy no longer promotes them in advertising campaigns.
Instead, it trumpets such conservation success stories as the Catalina Island fox, which has made one of the most remarkable recoveries known for an endangered species. After nearing extinction amid an epidemic of distemper, the population has rebounded to about 2,000.
"Some folks may not like it," Dennhardt said, "but we are committed to putting this landscape and its natural inhabitants back together."
CLIMATE & ENVIRONMENTCALIFORNIAANIMALS & PETS

 

[338 dude]

There's got to be a better way....
________________________________________________________________________________________________

Desperate to rid Catalina of invasive deer, officials propose bold helicopter hunt

Invasive mule deer are pushing native plants to the brink on Catalina Island. Officials want to hunt animals from helicopters.

www.latimes.com

Catalina officials propose bold deer mitigation plan amid uncontrolled population growth

The mule deer population is taking a toll on the ecosystem on Catalina Island, and officials have proposed a bold new plan to help save the island's native animal and plant species.

According to the Los Angeles Times, a plan put forward by the Catalina Island Conservancy that would use "helicopter-mounted sharpshooters" to kill the invasive deer has prompted some backlash.

However, the group believes there's no other choice.
"The situation has become untenable for the deer and for the island's ecology, leaving the island at a tipping point," reads a statement on the Catalina Island Conservancy website. "After consulting with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, it has been determined that a strategic deer management program is required to implement the overall plan to revive the island's ecosystem."

The deer are destroying native plants and habitats by trampling and destroying native plants and habitats, and due to them not having a natural predator, their population grew exponentially, the conservancy said.
They also contribute to vegetation destruction and soil erosion, as well as threatening the endemic and threatened species on the island, including the Catalina Island Fox, the Catalina California Quail, the Santa Catalina Island Shrew and other unique animals and plants only found on Catalina.
The island's deer population is eight to ten times the density of the mainland, the Catalina Island Conservancy said.

Residents, however, are not as keen on the idea of hunting the deer down in order to cull the population.

A petition started by a group called Save our Catalina Mule Deer claims that those who live on the island weren't given enough time to conduct their own research, discuss their ideas and "register their humane concerns" with the plan.

"There are several areas of concern that we, as citizens of the State of California, urge the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to consider sufficient to deny the current application…" the petition said. "These include, but are not limited to, questions about scientific integrity, cultural relativity, humane considerations and our legal rights…to be a greater part of the process."
A Catalina resident told the L.A. Times that many of his fellow islanders don't want the deer to go away, but that the conservancy "concluded that the only good number of deer in Catalina is zero."

It is legal to hunt on Catalina Island as long as all the requirements are met, deer included. Hunters must notify the conservancy no later than two days after harvest and return tags no later than five days after harvest.

I've read stories like this many times, and it always makes me mad how small towns will pay a contractor to wipe out all the animals when residents would gladly hunt them, and who gives the California wildlife people the information that the best solution is zero deer?everything must be managed, but I don't think zero is the proper number.

 

[Ol' Red]

If they are still invasive after 100 years, the migrants on the border should be getting very nervous right now. Seriously, this seems like such a waste. Allow hunting to thin the herd way down, but why kill all of them?

 

[xsn10s]

They had to do the samething on Angel Island off the California coast. It's the only way to save the indigenous threatened species. You'll see the same problem with feral or domestic cats. Which kill far more birds than lead bullets every year. Heck cars kill far more birds every year than lead bullets.

 

[brcfo_outdoors]

Sitting here at work and I can actually see Catalina. I remember being disappointed that they did the same thing to all the pigs on the island, as pigs are basically a pay to play species in this state. Been living in southern California on and off for the past ten years or so and buying D13 (also covers D11 and D15) zone tags for the last few year and didn't have any idea I could hunt the island. I think that is part of the problem, if they can increase hunter awareness and get more people in the woods because these zones are already inundated with hunters, especially opening day. The harvest success reporting for last year shows:

D11 9.3%
D13 9.8%
D15 7.7%

Which is pretty abysmal but more or less the norm for OTC zones in CA. So increased tag sales, increased hunter success, and solving the environmental impact could all be done with just a little advertising. Might get some looks riding the ferry back with a rifle and pair of bloody antlers sticking out of your pack, but its always fun to rile up the natives.

Edit: Looks like everything is managed through "Wildlife West" and is all sorts of convoluted with dates not lining up to actual CA season dates. No wonder the island is a mess.

 

[brcfo_outdoors]

They had to do the samething on Angel Island off the California coast. It's the only way to save the indigenous threatened species. You'll see the same problem with feral or domestic cats. Which kill far more birds than lead bullets every year. Heck cars kill far more birds every year than lead bullets.

Always wanted to go feral catting here in CA. In places like San Joaquin county they are a plague, I did a ride along and think I saw as many cats that night as I had seen in my entire life up until that point. Not sure what the statistic is now, but at least previously it was 2.4 billion song birds killed annually in the US by cats. As soon as you talk about killing them people clam up and try to push volunteer/pro bono neuter and spay clinics as if there is money for that and it will ever have a real impact. People always get squeamish and vote with their emotions instead of the science. I think it is a losing battle in the west coast states who fund activist groups and push ballot measure to stop things like predator hunting and other scientifically backed management practices.

 

[xsn10s]

I'm a cat lover so color me guilty. But the the science is clear. Much like the deer and the lead bullet issue.

 

[59FLH]

They should use the helicopters to drop off a few dozen wolves.

 

[Bucklowery]

This.

 

[Barrelnut]

Sounds like they could use some grizzlies too.

 

[brcfo_outdoors]

They should use the helicopters to drop off a few dozen wolves.

Sounds like they could use some grizzlies too.

Hopefully after they finish with the deer and move on to family pets and slow moving hikers that will convince the crazies that reintroducing those species to the rest of the state was never a good idea. Then we can get rid of the wolves that already made it here.

 

[biednick]

If the goal is to eliminate the deer there really isn't a better way. Hunting from the ground is ineffective as there will always be enough that get away to keep the population going. Aerial gunning is much more effective as animals can't hide as well from a hunter in a helicopter as they can from a hunter on the ground. I won't comment on whether or not eliminating the herd is a good idea as I don't know enough about Catalina's ecosystem to form an educated opinion.

I've backpached the trans Catalina trail. After my first time out there I looked pretty seriously into going back to hunt deer. Compared to other similar hunts it's difficult logistically. For most people the extra planning effort probably isn't worth it. It's also more expensive as you need a CA deer tag and a private land management tag from the island conservancy. I'd still like to hunt it sometime, but it sounds like I may have missed my chance.

 

[Idaho Lefty]

Please come to, Idaho to pick up your, Wolves and Grizzlies as, we're,.. Overloaded with, them !
Cali-Flakes should, LOVE,.. "this",.. ALL Natural,.. solution !
Wolves have wiped out, 50,000 Elk in a few Years, HERE so, I'm Confident that,.. THEY'LL,.. "Work Fine" !